Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference
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These statistics represent some disappointing facts about political mobility and equal representation in the UK. However, for someone who is altruistically minded and happened to study PPE at Oxford, they also represent a powerful opportunity.
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the death tolls from disasters form a fat-tailed distribution. Nassim Taleb describes these as ‘Black Swans’: very rare events that have a very great impact.)
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In cases where people seem to neglect the risks of worst-case outcomes, helping to prevent these outcomes might be a particularly effective altruistic activity. This is what the Skoll Global Threats Fund focuses on,
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We just need to assess the chances of success, and how good success would be if it happened. This, of course, is very difficult to do, but we will make better decisions if we at least try to make these assessments rather than simply throwing up our hands and randomly choosing an activity to pursue, or, worse, not choosing any altruistic activity at all.
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Books for Africa (BFA).
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Development Media International (DMI).
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GiveDirectly.
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Charity Navigator,
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If we don’t care about financial information when we buy products for ourselves, why should we care about financial information when we buy products for other people?
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What does this charity do?
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How cost-effective is each programme area?
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How robust is the evidence behind each programme?
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How well is each programme implemented?
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Does the charity need additional funds?
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Because transferring cash is such a simple idea, and because the evidence in favour of cash transfers is so robust, we could think of them as the ‘index fund’ of giving.
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we should only assume we’re in a better position to help the poor than they are to help themselves if we have some particularly compelling reason for thinking so.
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global health stands out for a couple of reasons. First, it has a proven track record:
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the evidence behind health interventions is more robust.
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‘ethical consumerism’,
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In developing countries, sweatshop jobs are the good jobs.
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Fairtrade certification does not improve the lives of agricultural workers.
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Using this figure, the average American adult would have to spend $105 per year in order to offset all their carbon emissions.
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the easiest and most effective way to cut down your carbon footprint is simply to donate to Cool Earth.
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In buying indulgences, you don’t ‘undo’ the harm you’ve caused others or the sins you’ve done. In contrast, through effective carbon offsetting, you’re preventing anyone from being harmed by your
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emissions
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He rates beef cattle at 6 and dairy cows at 4. In contrast his average rating for broiler chickens is –1, and for pigs and caged hens is –5.
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the average American will consume the following: 28.5 broiler chickens, 0.8 layer hens, 0.8 turkeys, 0.37 pigs, 0.1 beef cows, and 0.007 dairy cows;
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3.3 from broiler chickens (28.5 chickens consumed, each of which lives six weeks = 3.3 animal years), 1 from layer hens, 0.3 from turkeys, 0.2 from pigs, 0.1 from beef cows, and 0.03 from dairy cows.
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the most effective way to cut animal suffering out of your diet is to stop eating chicken, then eggs, then pork:
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Psychologists have discovered a phenomenon that they call ‘moral licensing’ that describes how people who perform one good action often compensate by doing fewer good actions in the future.
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Moral licensing shows that people are often more concerned about looking good or feeling good rather than actually doing good.
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How do I personally fit with this job?
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What’s my impact while I’m working at this job?
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How does this job contribute to my impact later on in life?
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Steve Jobs
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believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart,
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the idea of following your passion is terrible advice.
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most people don’t have passions that fit the world of work.
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your interests change.
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the best predictors of job satisfaction are features of the job itself, rather than facts about personal passion.
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passion grows out of work that has the right features.
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ability to simulate the effects of an as-yet unexperienced event is a remarkably powerful skill,
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But the simulations we run bias us in a number of predictable ways.
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talk about ‘personal fit’ rather than ‘following your heart’
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it’s best to take an empirical approach, trying out different types of work, and using your track record to predict how well you’ll perform in the future. At the start of your career, be open minded
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First, to make a difference in the social sector, the organisation you work for must be effective.
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Second, you need to provide substantial value over the person the charity would have hired instead.
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if you’re just starting out, it’s much more important to build skills and credentials than it is to have an impact on the job.
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entrepreneurs should think of their ideas or products as hypotheses, and continually test,
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Solid bets Direct work for a highly effective organisation